Shamar Rinpoche gave an Amitabha initiation to his followers in Nepal, in thefield behind the Grand Hotel in Boudhanath. Roughly 120,000 people attended,many of whom were from the Helambu (Yolmo) region, whose ancestors werefollowers of past Sharmapas— in particular the 8th Shamarpa who was born inYolmo. Many Newari Buddhists from Kathmandu also attended, who likewise claimancestors that were disciples of past Shamarpas. The event was organized jointlyby many indigenous Buddhist organizations in Nepal. The ceremony lasted roughly9 hours, and eventually the local authorities had to close the roads leading tothe site so that the ceremony did not last for days.

The history of the Shamarpas becomes especially dramatic during and after thelifetime of the 10th Shamar, Chödrup Gyatso (1642-1692). For that reason it isuseful to explain his life in more detail here. The brother of the 3rd PanchenLama Palden Yeshe (1738-1780)- a highly ranked Gelukpa Lama - the 10th Shamarpahad a very poor relationship with the Gelukpa government of Tibet based in Lhasaand directly ruled by the Chinese Emperor Qianlong (1711-1799). TsomonlingNgawang Tsultrim, the imperial Chinese representative in Lhasa at that time, wasespecially opposed to him for a number of reasons. First of all, he belonged tothe Karma Kagyu school and claimed that that the Kagyus were the former rulersof Tibet. Second, he was on friendly terms with the British government in India,a state of affairs that had come about because his mother was a princess ofLadakh. Both of these facts made the Emperor's government very suspicious.Fearing censure or punishment from the governments of both Tibet and China, the10th Shamarpa fled to Nepal. He lived there comfortably until, in 1788, a warbroke out between Tibet and Nepal over the minting and circulation ofcounterfeit coins. The 10th Shamarpa was used by the government of Nepal as amediator in the peace talks with Tibet, and as a result the government of Tibetinformed the Emperor Qianlong that the Shamarpa had taken the part of theNepalese in the conflict. The Gelukpa Tibetan government then requested that theShamarpa institution be banned. The ban was effected upon the death of the 10thShamarpa in 1792 and remained in effect until the 20th century.

From 1792 until 1963, no Shamarpa reincarnation was enthroned, although the11th, 12th, and 13th Shamarpas were secretly recognized during that time by theKarmapas. In 1963, the 14th Dalai Lama and the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa formallyrestored the institution of the Shamarpas, enthroning the current, 14th,Shamarpa.

Shamar Rinpoche is also the author of two books. Creating a TransparentDemocracy: a New Model, the first book written about democracy by a TibetanBuddhist teacher, lays out a framework for establishing a genuine democraticsystem of governance that promotes the welfare and prosperity of a population.This model proposes a system of democracy based on the decentralization ofpolitical power, the promotion of political literacy among the population ofdemocratic states, and an end to campaigning. It is Shamar Rinpoche's wish thatthis new model of democracy will inspire volunteers to dedicate themselves toimproving the lives of their fellow citizens through sincere engagement with thestructures of their governments.

In The Path to Awakening, Shamar Rinpoche provides an extensive commentary onChekawa Yeshe Dorje's Seven Points of Mind Training. Chekawa's text was based onthe Mind Training (lojong) teachings brought to Tibet by Atisha in the 11thcentury, and Shamar Rinpoche's commentary elucidates the inner meaning ofChekawa's Seven Points. It is both a guide to living a fulfilling life as aBuddhist and a comprehensive manual of meditation techniques.